I have a customer who wants a wall built with a pocket door. Having not done one before, are there any particular pitfalls that I should be aware of?
Discussion Forum
Discussion Forum
Up Next
Video Shorts
Featured Story
Learn more about the benefits and compliance details for the DOE's new water heater energy-efficiency standards.
Highlights
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Replies
Just make sure it is plumb and square. Oh yeah, use short nails when installing the base board otherwise it won't open. ;-)
Use a Johnson pocket door frame, and you will come out fine.
"Dont use 2" nails on baseboard"
Thats really not funny:( Found that out the hard way. Stupid people suck dont we!
Tired of being the nail!!
Edited 11/4/2003 8:12:57 PM ET by splinter
and dont use three inch screws to hold up any cabinets!!!!caulking is not a piece of trim
LMAO! I helped a guy install cabinets in a house one time and his method for finding the studs was to use an awl and a hammer. Well, the refridgerator upper just happened to be where the pocket door was. He was amazed at the amount of "Blocking" behind that wall. Not only did he run four screws through the door, which is when we discovered the door, but when opened it revealed about twenty awl holes! Yep, we ended up filling and repainting that door. Ahhh...the good days ;-)
been there done that!!!!!!!!!
funiest thing i ever drove a cabinet screw into was a window covered on the inside and painted, but still visible on the outside, client was prepping for a siding job later
CRACK!!!!!!!!!!!caulking is not a piece of trim
OK ... let's do the poll....
I started trimming one one day ...
early the next morning grabbed the 2 1/2 nails to tack something else ...
forgot ...
then went back and finished trimming the pocket door ...
"hey ... this is stuck for some reason?"
spent the rest of the day getting it "unstuck" ...
worst part ... I shot thru the metal top track and put a nice dent into the roller action ...
took lotsa time ... and one of my best chissels ... as I'd bent it on the bumper of my van to make the turn and fit inside the wall .... beat the sh!t outta if scraping down metal....
I was an employee at the time and wanted this problam to go away before the big bosses showed for the end of the day walk thru ....
about 15 min before he showed things were back to normal .... bet they wondered why the time sheet said 8 hrs on one pocket door though ....
Jeff
Buck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Fine Carpentery.....While U Waite
I'll own up.
Can still see that door..
Excellence is its own reward!
Good hardware.
Johnson.
Read the instructions
Cheap hardware makes you look bad
Excellence is its own reward!
Yeah, also make sure you use 1" max drywall screws when fastening to those split studs. And make sure you double check the nose piece of your impulse gun for that last remaining 2 1/2" nail before you nail casing on. Been there . . .
Follow the instructions to the letter so you can take the door outta the opening for whatever reason comes up. And as has been said, make it plumb, level, and square. Best of luck, you'll do fine.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
For the best pocket door possible (as I have found) Forget the pre-packaged crap out there (no names). Frame your pocket door into a 2x6 wall. Use two 2x6's (on the flat) at the pocket opening. Clad these with 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" steel angle iron after rabbeting them out so they are flush. Pre-drill and toe-screw into bot. plate and header. I also extend the angle iron up upon the header and down upon the bot. plate. You can use 2x4's (on the flat) for the intermediate studs. Purchase & install a higher-end track and rollers package (Stanley makes a great set). Add req. backing @ header. Good to go!
Pros: Stiffer, rigid opening at pocket
1 1/2" + space between GWB and door
With this added space, room to install a shallow swich box
Solid backing for GWB
In bathroom applications, one can install adeqate backing for towel bars, etc.
Happy clients
Cons: More money
More labor
I forgot to mention a way you might go using a Johnson frame that can beef things up. If it is a little wall, rip 2x6 studs to 5" and frame with them, then install the Johnson arrangement, and sheet each side of the pocket, over the Johnson studs, with 3/4" plywood. You will have more meat in place at the pocket for fastening sheetrock, and something more than just the studs for fastening your baseboards. Always keep that door pocket free from nails and screws. Remember where it is when choosing and using screws and nails for your finish work.
Speaking of pocket doors, here's a tip / suggestion. In our new house, we have a Johnson pocket door on the john, so to speak. The logical place for the toilet paper holder was on the wall with the pocket door.
HINT - discuss with homeowner where they want the toilet paper holder; you could add a piece of blocking so that it is easier to mount later, so you won't have to do this.
Part of the deal was when we moved in, we (I) would mount the towel racks etc. In order to mount the toilet paper holder, I needed to use toggle bolts (with a 6 year old in the house, anything less would be hanging loose in 3 months). There wasn't enough room inside the wall to put the toggle bolts in normally, because if the bolt was long enough to grab the toggle, it was long enough to foul the door. So, I took a yardstick with a gob of putty on it, and stuck the toggle onto it. I could then slide the toggle inside the wall, between the door and the casing, and then use very short bolts to mount the paper holder. It took a few minutes, but it worked!
Use the heavy duty Johnson rollers and hardware, not their light duty hardware. There's not much price difference and you get a much beefier installation. You don't want to have to play with track & rollers after it is installed. ;-)
Billy
Does the angle iron help prevent the sideways mounted studs from warping?
Absolutley, of course you need to start w/ straight matl. but after the angle iron is glued and screwed, it is bomb proof. Ever found that after a pocket door is lined at the sides of the opening the reveal is bowed? You know how you can sqeeze both sides against the door, not the case with steel lined openings.
Hope that answers your question.
Phil k
I just remodeled a bathroom with a pocket door and wanted wall sconces on the same wall where the pocket door was. I had to fur the wall out with 2x4's on the flat so the electrician could add a low profile wall box in. As some of the other posters mention, just watch and plan what goes in and around the pocket door.
If you are using pocket door hardware, make sure the opening does not sit over a long joist span.
One customers design had his ensuite pocket door situated over his very wide living room. Walking across the upper floor caused the pocket ½ studs to slide on the floor brackets and squeak like hell.
Turtleneck
Thanks very much for the great information. I was able to use the 2x6 ripped to 5" method with the Johnson set-up. All the screws and nails were kept short and I now have one happy customerwith a smooth sliding door.
One thing that I did discover was that the pieces ripped off the 2x6's were the ideal width to add into the side of the pocket frame, running from the top of the bottom plate to the bottom of the top plate. This added more rigidity to the 1x4 horizontal pieces of the frame and also gave better anchor points for the drywall screws.
Once again, thanks to all.
Scooter.